The invention relates to a product housing apparatus and a product housing method for a vending machine, for housing therein a plurality of products arranged in the longitudinal direction which, at the time of selling, are pushed forward from behind to deliver a product. More particularly, the invention relates to a product housing apparatus and a product housing method for a vending machine, for housing therein, for example, thin products such as wrapping with an emblematic noshi decoration printed on it (noshi bukuro), bagged products such as snack confectionery, and wholly wrapped products (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cwrapped productsxe2x80x9d) such as box lunches.
Conventional vending machines wherein products housed in a product passage horizontally extended in the longitudinal direction are pushed forward to deliver a product, particularly the so-called xe2x80x9csee-through type vending machinesxe2x80x9d wherein a purchaser of the product can see products housed in the vending machine through a transparent front door, and that utilize a spiral member which extends spirally in the longitudinal direction, for selling the thin products or bagged products as described above. This spiral member is provided so as to have a plurality of spaces at equal pitches in the longitudinal direction, and is disposed within the product passage. Each product is housed within the product passage in a substantially stood-up position in the state of being inserted into the space in the spiral member. At the time of selling, the spiral member is rotated by substantially one turn about an axis extended in the longitudinal direction to advance products by one pitch while pushing. The rotation of the spiral member in this way permits all the products housed in the product passage to be moved forward, and, when the spiral member has been rotated at a predetermined angle, the product located at the forefront in the product passage (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cforefront productxe2x80x9d) is delivered forward from the delivery port located at the front end of the product passage.
On the other hand, for products other than the thin products and the bagged products, for example, for canned beverage products and the above-described wrapped products, they are placed in the state of being arranged in the longitudinal direction on a bottom wall constituting the bottom of the product passage to house products in the product passage. All the products housed in this way are pushed from behind, for example, by means of a pusher which is driven forward along the product passage so as to be advanced forward, whereby the forefront product is delivered forward through the delivery port in the product passage.
In the vending machine provided with the spiral member, a large number of spiral members should be provided according to the size and shape of the products. Specifically, in order to properly deliver the products forward in a substantially stood-up position, it is necessary to use a spiral member which has a diameter close to the outside dimension of the product and has a space somewhat larger than the thickness of the products. Therefore, in order to sell a variety of products having various sizes and thicknesses, a plurality of types of spiral members should be provided according to the types of the products. This disadvantageously increases the cost.
Further, in the case of vending machines provided, for example, with a bucket which is moved between a position in the vicinity of the delivery port of the product passage and a product take-out port and receives the product, delivered from the product passage, at a position in the vicinity of the delivery port in the product passage, a failure to deliver is likely to occur particularly in delivering a thin product from the product passage to the bucket. More specifically, an unavoidable gap occurs between the bucket moved around the delivery port in the product passage and the delivery port in the product passage. In delivering a product having a smaller thickness than this gap, for example, a telephone card, from the product passage to the bucket, there is a fear that the product enters the gap, or otherwise the product drops downward through the gap, resulting in a failure to properly deliver the product to the bucket. It is a matter of course that the failure to deliver can be prevented by providing a mechanism which, at the time of the delivery of the product, can clog the gap, between the bucket and the delivery port in the product passage, from the upper part thereof and functions as a bridge for delivering the product from the product passage to the bucket. The provision of this mechanism disadvantageously increases the cost.
On the other hand, in vending machines provided, for example, with a pusher for pushing the product, a failure to deliver products is likely to occur for some products. Specifically, for example, when wrapped products are housed in the product passage in such a state that they are merely placed on the bottom wall in the product passage, the lower surface of the wrapped product is brought into intimate contact with the bottom wall in the product passage. This often causes large frictional force between the wrapped products and the bottom wall in the product passage. For this reason, in some cases, the pusher driving force is unsatisfactory for delivering the wrapped products, even though this driving force suffices for advancing canned beverage products or the like. In this case, the wrapped products cannot be properly advanced. As a result, a failure to deliver the products occurs.
The invention has been made with a view to solving the above problems of the prior art, and it is an object of the invention to provide inexpensive product housing apparatus and product housing method for a vending machine which can house, in a product passage horizontally extended in the longitudinal direction, various products including, for example, thin products, bagged products, and wrapped products, in the state of being arranged in the longitudinal direction, and, at the same time, can properly and surely deliver the products.
According to the first feature of the invention, there is provided a product housing apparatus for a vending machine, for housing therein a plurality of products arranged in the longitudinal direction which, at the time of selling, are pushed forward from behind to deliver a product, said product housing apparatus comprising:
a product passage defined by a bottom wall horizontally extended in the longitudinal direction and left and right side walls which face each other while leaving a space therebetween in the lateral direction, are extended upward from the bottom wall and, at the same time, are extended parallel to each other in the longitudinal direction, the plurality of products being housed in the product passage in the state of being arranged in the longitudinal direction and being abutted against each other; and
a product locking section which is provided between the left and right side walls of the bottom wall so as to extend along the product passage and locks the plurality of products so as for the products to be held in a laid state and in a position inclined in the lower right direction and/or the lower left direction.
According to this construction, a plurality of products to be arranged in the longitudinal direction for housing in the state of being abutted against each other in a product passage defined by the bottom wall and the left and right side walls are locked by a product locking section provided between the left and right side walls of the bottom wall. This permits the products to be held in a laid state and in a position inclined in the lower right direction and/or the lower left direction. More specifically, for example, {circle around (1)} two products abutted against each other are housed in the product passage so as to cross each other by locking two products abutted against each other in such a manner that one of the two products is held in a position inclined in the lower right direction while the other product is held in a position inclined in the lower left direction (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9ccross housingxe2x80x9d). Alternatively, {circle around (2)} all the products are locked so as to be held in a position inclined in an identical direction, that is, the lower right direction or the lower left direction, at substantially the same angle to house them in the product passage (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cidentically inclined housingxe2x80x9d). At the time of selling, the plurality of products housed in the product passage in this way are pushed forward from behind, whereby, while maintaining the position in the housed state, the products are moved forward along the product passage while being guided by the locking section, and then delivered.
As described above, the plurality of products housed in the product passage are housed in a laid state and in a position inclined in the lower right direction and/or the lower left direction. In particular, when the products to be housed are thin products, these products are housed by cross housing. By virtue of this, simply pushing these products forward from behind permits the products to be delivered from the product passage. Therefore, unlike the prior art, even when products to be housed are thin products or bagged products, there is no need to provide a large number of types of spiral members according to the products housed in the product passage. As a result, a product housing apparatus, which can house various products including thin products and bagged products, can be realized at low cost. Further, when the bucket is moved to the vicinity of the delivery port in the front end of the product passage to receive the product delivered from the product passage and, at the same time, when the product is a thin product or a bagged product, the product is delivered while being moved forward by at least the depth in a laid state (the lateral width or longitudinal width of the product). Further, at that time, since the depth is generally larger than the gap between the bucket and the delivery port, for example, the entry of the product into the gap can be surely prevented. This permits the product to be properly and surely delivered (handed) to the forward bucket. Further, even when the product to be housed in the product passage is a product which, when housed by merely placing the product on the bottom wall, causes large frictional force between the product and the bottom wall, such as wrapped products, the frictional force can be significantly reduced by housing the product in a position inclined in the lower right direction or the lower left direction, because the product comes into line contact with the bottom wall to give a very small contact area. As a result, as compared with the prior art, wrapped products and the like can be smoothly and surely delivered forward, and, thus, a failure to deliver products can be prevented.
In the product housing apparatus according to the first feature of the invention, preferably, the product locking section comprises a convex which is projected upward from the bottom wall and locks the plurality of products.
According to this construction, the product locking section can be constituted by a convex projected upward from the bottom wall and having a simple construction in a low-cost and simple manner.
In this product housing apparatus, preferably, the convex is disposed at a substantially center portion between the left and right side walls of the bottom wall.
According to this construction, a convex is disposed at a substantially center portion between the left and right side walls of the bottom wall. Therefore, products abutted against each other can be allowed to cross each other in the vicinity of the upper end of the convex, and housed orderly within the product passage symmetrically with respect to the left and right about the convex.
In the above product housing apparatus, preferably, the convex is constructed so as to be detachable from the bottom wall and attachable to a plurality of positions between the left and right side walls of the bottom wall.
According to this construction, the convex is detachable to the bottom wall, and is attachable to a plurality of positions of the bottom wall in the lateral direction. Therefore, the form of housing can be freely and easily switched between cross housing and identically inclined housing, for example, according to the size or shape of the product to be housed. Specifically, when a convex is mounted on a center portion between the left and right side walls of the bottom wall, the products can be housed by the cross housing, while when the convex is mounted at a position which is closer to any one of the left and right side walls than the other side wall, the products can be housed by the identically inclined housing. Further, since the convex is detachable from the bottom wall, when products which require neither cross housing nor identically inclined housing, for example, products which can be placed in a self-stood-up position on the bottom wall, such as canned beverage products, are housed in the product passage, the removal of the convex from the bottom wall can easily cope with this.
In any one of the above product housing apparatuses, preferably, the surface of the convex is formed of a material having a sliding property.
According to this constitution, the surface of the convex has a sliding property. Therefore, when the products locked by the convex are pushed forward from behind, they can be smoothly delivered forward.
In the product housing apparatus according to the first feature of the invention, preferably, the product locking section comprises a concave which is provided on the upper surface of the bottom wall and functions to lock the lower end of the plurality of products housed in the inclined position in the product passage.
According to this construction, the product locking section for locking the lower end of the plurality of products housed in an inclined position can be formed by the concave having a simple structure provided on the upper surface of the bottom wall in a low-cost and simple manner.
In the above product housing apparatus, preferably, the concave is provided at a substantially center portion between the left and right side walls of the bottom wall.
According to this construction, a concave is provided at a substantially center portion between the left and right side walls of the bottom wall. Therefore, products abutted against each other can be allowed to cross each other in the concave, and housed orderly within the product passage symmetrically with respect to the left and the right about the concave.
In the above product housing apparatus, two concaves may be provided, symmetrically with respect to the left and the right, between the left and right side walls of the bottom wall.
According to this construction, locking a product in its lower end in the left concave out of the two concaves provided symmetrically with respect to the left and the right permits the product to be housed in a position inclined in the lower left direction, while locking another product in its lower end in the right concave permits this product to be housed in a position inclined in the lower right direction. This enables the products abutted against each other to be easily housed by cross housing and, at the same time, the products to be orderly housed symmetrically with respect to the left and the right.
In any one of the above product housing apparatuses, preferably, at least one of the left and right side walls is constructed so as to be detachable from the bottom wall and attachable to a plurality of positions in the lateral direction of the bottom wall.
According to this construction, at least one of the left and right side walls is detachable to the bottom wall, and is attachable to a plurality of positions of the bottom wall in the lateral direction. Therefore, the width in the lateral direction of the product passage can be freely and easily increased or reduced, for example, according to the size or shape of the product to be housed in the product passage.
Preferably, the above product housing apparatus further comprises a detachable cover which is extended in the longitudinal direction along the left and right side walls and covers, from the product passage side, a gap between the bottom wall and at least one of the left and right side walls.
According to this construction, even when a gap occurs between the bottom wall and the left or right side wall at the time of mounting of the left and right side walls on the bottom wall, the covering of the gap with a cover from the product passage side can surely prevent accidental entry of the product in its end (a front end in the case of thin products, and a double leaved ear portion in the case of bagged products) into the gap at the time of housing or delivery of products.
In the above product housing apparatus, the cover on its surface of the product passage side is preferably formed of a material having a sliding property.
According to this construction, since the surface of the cover on its product passage side has a sliding property, the product housed in contact with the cover can be smoothly advanced by pushing the product forward from behind.
Any one of the above product housing apparatuses may further comprise a product delivery sensor which comprises a light emitting device and a photodetector located around a delivery port of the front end of the product passage and provided so as to horizontally face each other in the lateral direction and detects the delivery of a product from the product passage based on whether or not light from the light emitting device has been received by the photodetector.
According to this construction, the product delivery sensor comprising the light emitting device and the photodetector detects a product which is delivered while maintaining the position provided at the time of housing. Specifically, the detection is made based on whether or not, in passing the product, which is in a laid state and held in a position inclined in the lower right direction or the lower left direction, through between the light emitting device and the photodetector, the photodetector has received light from the light emitting device. In this case, for example, when the product to be delivered is a thin product, the height of the product in the vertical direction is larger by the degree of inclination than that in the case where the product is delivered in the horizontally laid state. Accordingly, the delivery of this product can be surely detected by properly setting the angle of inclination of the product so as to apply light from the light emitting device to the product.
According to the second feature of the invention, there is provided a product housing method for a vending machine, for housing a plurality of products which are abutted against each other and arranged in the longitudinal direction in a product passage horizontally extended in the longitudinal direction and, at the time of selling, are pushed forward from behind to deliver a product, wherein
one of the plurality of the products is housed, within the product passage, in a laid state and in a position inclined in one of the lower right direction and the lower left direction, and
the other product abutted against said one product is housed, within the product passage, in a laid state and in a position inclined in the other direction.
According to this construction, when a plurality of products are housed in a product passage horizontally extended in the longitudinal direction, one of the plurality of products is first housed in a laid state and in a position inclined in any one of the lower right direction and the lower left direction. Next, on the front or rear side of the one product, another product is abutted against this one product, and housed in a laid state and in a position inclined in other direction. That is, in housing the plurality of products, they are successively arranged in the longitudinal direction in a laid state and in positions inclined alternately in the lower right direction and the lower left direction (cross housing). This cross housing permits the plurality of products housed in the product passage to be delivered from the product passage by simply pushing the products forward from behind. Therefore, even when products to be housed in the product passage are thin products or bagged products, unlike the prior art technique, various products including thin products and bagged products can be housed without utilizing a large number of types of spiral members according to the products housed in the product passage.
Further, when the bucket is moved to the vicinity of the delivery port in the front end of the product passage to receive the product delivered from the product passage and, at the same time, when the product is a thin product or a bagged product, housing the products in the product passage by the cross housing permits the product to be delivered while being moved forward by at least the depth in a laid state (the lateral width or longitudinal width of the product). Further, at that time, since the depth is generally larger than the gap between the bucket and the delivery port, for example, the entry of the product into the gap can be surely prevented. This permits the product to be properly and surely delivered forward. Further, even when the product to be housed in the product passage is a product which, when housed by merely placing the product on the bottom wall constituting the bottom of the product passage, causes large frictional force between the product and the bottom wall, such as wrapped products, the cross housing of the products can significantly reduce the frictional force, because the product comes into line contact with the bottom wall to give a very small contact area. As a result, as compared with the prior art, wrapped products and the like can be smoothly and surely delivered forward, and, thus, a failure to deliver products can be prevented.
According to the third feature of the invention, there is provided a product housing method for a vending machine, for housing a plurality of products which are abutted against each other and arranged in the longitudinal direction in a product passage horizontally extended in the longitudinal direction and, at the time of selling, are pushed forward from behind to deliver a product, wherein
the plurality of products are housed, within the product passage, in a laid state and in a position inclined at substantially the same angle in any one of the lower right direction and the lower left direction.
According to this construction, when a plurality of products are housed in a product passage horizontally extended in the longitudinal direction, they are arranged in the longitudinal direction in the state of being abutted against each other and, at the same time, are successively housed, within the product passage, in a laid state and in a position inclined at substantially the same angle in any one of the lower right direction and the lower left direction (identically inclined housing). Therefore, even when the plurality of products to be housed in the product passage are thin products or bagged products, the adoption of the identically inclined housing method permits various products including thin products and bagged products to be housed without utilizing the spiral member, as with the product housing apparatus according to the second feature of the invention. In addition, products can be properly and surely delivered forward. Further, even when the product to be housed in the product passage is, for example, a wrapped product, the product can be smoothly and surely delivered forward, and, thus, a failure to deliver products can be prevented.